We often wonder what people did for entertainment before the advent of radio, television and internet. Speaking to Amelia Dias, NT BUZZ rediscovers the fact that singing and dancing were the main media of entertainment then. What we know now as folk dance – even the relatively unheard of ‘Kazara Naach’ and ‘Khannar Kher’– formed a major chunk of this entertainment. A few like Amelia have put all their efforts in preserving the age old traditions
SACHI NAIK | NT BUZZ
Dressed in a beautiful red saree and a tidy hair bun, with a smile on her face and a zeal in her mind; the lady joins others at the maand holding her partners by their waists. And to the beats of ghumat, taashe and vaadale, she joins others as in singing a ‘kantar’, thus creates the scene of Kazara Naach and Khannar Kher – the two folk dances of Goa that have almost faded into oblivion.
Amelia Dias from Avedem, Quepem who is the oldest to pass on this tradition of Goan folk dances in her village says: “I am above 60 years. We have a maand in our village where we used to perform earlier. Maand is a sort of open and informal stage. My elders used to take me there as a child. In those days, every female of the village knew the dance because we observed our elders. I began dancing at the age of 15. Since age has caught up on me, I restrict myself to singing kantaras.”
In the days of yore, there was hardly any source of entertainment. There were hardly any tiatrs, no television nor a radio in the rural areas. During such times, the folk dances would not only act as the source of entertainment, but they also proved to be a sort of annual gathering or a celebration.
Although it started as a source of entertainment, but today it is become a tradition, with history attached to it. The maand in the Avedem has been a place for an annual gathering. “Every year in the month of October, the villagers gathered at the maand and all the ladies performed different dances which lasted for hours. It would begin at around 8 p.m. and went on till 2 a.m. or a little after,” says Amelia. This tradition had been in practice till as recently as 2013.
The performances would continue for a period of either three, five, seven or nine consecutive nights depending on the zeal of the womenfolk. “We continuously performed for even nine nights. The first and the last nights had the longest performances. We would get tired, but our enthusiasm overtook our bodies,” says Amelia. After the performance of the village ladies, the males would take over and have a carnival-like celebration for three consecutive nights. Amelia says, “Men would perform intruz for three nights after our maand was over. This was the tradition of folk dances at Avedem.”
The two unique folk dances today at Avedem are Kazara Naach and Khannar Kher. One of the performers, Louisa Fernandes says: “There are various types of dance steps like kazara naach, khannar kher, udyo, pavli, mor, khevku, ghon, biya, etc.” Kazara naach is the folk dance that was performed by ladies during a Christian wedding. While, Khannar Kher represents the local term for winnowing of paddy using a large stone mortar and pestle. There is a dance step using that hence the name.”
Kazara naach and Khannar kher are similar to Dhalo, however, the dance forms have derived its name from the work the people did. “We work in farms. The dance steps are derived from the work we do,” says Amelia.
Speaking about the costumes used, Louisa says: “We wear a red saree that is wrapped around our waist to fall just below the knees. We also tie a white towel around. Further, we roll up our hair with a neat bun and decorate it with a string of flowers. The ladies deck up with gold earrings and necklaces for the performances.”
The dance is accompanied with the live music by local musicians. Amelia says: “Instruments like ghumat, taashe, vaadale are used. The musicians are men who wear inner vests on top and tie a towel around their waist. They also knot a red handkerchief on their head. Most important difference between Dhalo, Kazara Naach and Khannar Kher is the kantaras we sing. Each dance form has different kantaras.” The Kantaras are sung by all the ladies who perform the dance, however, when the troupe goes to perform elsewhere, Amelia sings the Kantaras.
Amelia and her troupe have travelled across India to perform. “We have been to almost every state in India and once to Moscow, Russia through Department of Art and Culture of Goa, and organisations like banglanatak dot com that promote such forms of art. When we perform in the village there is no restriction to the number of participants, however, when we perform elsewhere, we have to restrict it to fifteen including the musicians,” says Amelia.
Getting nostalgic about the old days, Amelia says, “There is electricity now but earlier we would light up our maand with the embers of coconut branches. The dance steps require a lot of energy and since we worked in fields, we could do it. Today’s children get tired very soon.”
Amelia says that thanks to the dance, she has been able to travel to new places. She says: “I am blessed to know this folk dance as I could travel a number of places and I could showcase my talent to the people around.”
She wishes to preserve the folk art for future generations: “I wish to preserve this folk form but my wish solely won’t help. What is needed is the enthusiasm and interest of the youngsters. Currently, young girls of Avedem know the steps and they do perform. However, I wish they continue doing it and preserve the art of Goa for future generations.”